Lebanon shooting victim still hospitalized Police say suspect was on parole at time of incident

By Liz Markhlevskaya

lmark@fosters.com

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

LEBANON, Maine — The 2nd Street resident who suffered a gunshot wound during a home invasion Jan. 8 remains under treatment at Maine Medical Center, police said on Monday.

Richard Potorski, 41, of 11 2nd Street, came home for lunch around noontime on Jan. 8 to find an intruder at his home. The suspect asked for money, and when Potorski said he didn’t have any, he was shot in the shoulder and chest area. The single bullet is also believed to have struck Potorski’s spine, and the victim, who is struggling for his life, will be paralyzed from the waist down as a result of the incident, Strafford County Associate Attorney Jennifer Chase said last week.

Maine State Police allege that Ronald Bauer, 48, was the shooter in the incident, and that Susan Gutierrez, 48, drove Bauer to Potorski’s home. Both suspects, who most recently have been living in Rochester, N.H., allegedly went to Potorski’s home with intent to commit burglary to “feed their drug habit,” Maine State Police spokesman Stephen McCausland said last week.

Bauer and Gutierrez were arrested Wednesday in Somersworth, N.H. Both were charged with elevated aggravated assault and hindering apprehension. They were also charged with being fugitives from justice, for allegedly fleeing to New Hampshire after Jan. 8 while knowing they committed an assault offense in Maine.

According to Somersworth police, Bauer was on parole during the Jan. 8 incident. The parole had been for a firearms offense, said Somersworth Police Capt. Russell Timmons.